The High Court refused all reliefs sought by Sultan Chakari in judicial review proceedings concerning the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal, finding that there was no Tribunal decision for the court to review.
Mr Justice Max Barrett said the Tribunal had not made a decision on Mr Chakari’s application, nor had it failed to make one. At the hearing, the application remained incomplete because relevant documents were outstanding. The Tribunal did not have enough information to decide the substantive claim, which remained pending at Mr Chakari’s election.
Mr Chakari submitted a non-fatal injury application to the Tribunal on 22 July 2016. In a letter dated 19 August 2016, his solicitor asked the Tribunal to disapply provisions of the compensation scheme that exclude general damages for pain and suffering. The solicitor also noted that the scheme did not provide for legal representation costs. The Tribunal replied on 8 September 2016 that applications were processed within the scheme’s parameters.
The judge held that this reply was not a decision susceptible to judicial review. He said the Tribunal was required to operate in accordance with the scheme and that the evidence did not suggest it could vary it.
At the hearing, counsel for Mr Chakari referred to an earlier High Court judgment, QL v. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, which discussed circumstances where declaratory relief could help resolve a legal issue before an authority made a decision. Mr Justice Barrett said that judgment did not create a hybrid procedure allowing judicial review where there was nothing to review. He also found no material change in circumstances, new events or previously unknown information that could warrant declaratory relief.
The judge said a challenge to the compensation scheme should be brought in plenary proceedings. To challenge a Tribunal decision by judicial review, Mr Chakari would first need to progress his application until a reviewable decision was made. The court therefore refused all reliefs sought.